Terrible Advanced open water experience

[joe rock]

The whole experience this guy had is why I disagree with taking an AOW course right after OW cert. Most OW divers are not ready yet. They need more experience with the use of equipment and especially if they are going to be in cold dark water more time in that environment before taking the AOW course.

I took AOW immediately following OW and it was a great experience for me and probably got me diving a lot right away. I'm glad I did it. With that said, it seems the op was taking AOW in conditions that were totally different and much more difficult than the conditions he/she took OW. I think that's a bigger issue.

With that being said, if I took AOW now, I would be MUCH more demanding of my instructor and expect a totally different level of challange than I had taking it immediately after OW.

JR

 

[chipwd]

I was certified in mid-May in upstate NY. The water temps were in the mid 40's and the visibilty was around 10-15 ft.

Since then I have logged 25 dives , most in the same lake I was certified in. I wear a 7MM jumpsuit with hood, gloves and booties and found them very cumbersome at first but as time goes by I am getting used to them. The water temps have risen to mid 70's at the surface and low 60's below the thermocline.

My first couple of dives were mostly spent "fussing" with my gear; clearing my mask, pulling my bcd around, checking my gauges too frequently, trying to stay off the bottom and avoid silting out the dive. As I become more confident with my skills and more comfortable with my gear, I find that I can actually spend time looking around and enjoying the dives. I have gotten my weight down from 48 lbs (!!!) on my cert dives to 20 lbs with a steel 100 tank and my bouyancy skills and air consumption have improved dramatically.

I now feel ready to move on to AOW. My buddies (mostly DMs) and the local LDS that I deal with have always told me to take my time before moving on to AOW and I can see how right they were to tell me that. While I feel pretty confident I also realize that diving is a sport that I will always be learning more with each dive that I take.

I echo to you the advice they gave me; take your time, dive with people that are willing to teach you and work with you and learn to enjoy diving at your current skill level before taking on the new challenges of AOW.

 

[jbd]

With that being said, if I took AOW now, I would be MUCH more demanding of my instructor and expect a totally different level of challange than I had taking it immediately after OW.

JR

How could you expect something much more challenging if the instructor doesn't know how to teach anything other than an AOW suitable for divers straight out of an OW course which may well have been weak on performance to begin with.

By only offering AOW to students who have some experience and who can manage their gear comfortably it is a lot easier for an instructor to offer a more challenging and consequently more satifying AOW course.

I won't start an AOW course with anyone that doesn't have solid bouyancy control because the things we are going to do in the course require it.

I won't start an AOW course with anyone who can't manage their gear comfortably because I need them to learn the use of other equipment.

I won't start an AOW course with anyone who can not plan the dive, execute the dive plan and evaluate the dives afterwards, because I don't plan the dives nor lead the dives in the AOW course.

This requires people to be fairly competent at diving which is not true of most people coming out of an OW course. They need time to build confidence and skill first.

 

[divinotter]

I also had a less than stellar aow experience- the instructor only spent at most 10 minutes, didn't even ask for any of my coursework and never showed the video , etc. I took the card and then enrolled myself in another program. luckily in L.A. there's a program - not a course - specifically for people who want a lot of training - not just a card ( L.A. county advanced diver program). Anyway - after 14 weeks I went from 22 lbs to the 10 I use now and handle my gear like an old salt- but- i did almost give up before I found the program - so give yourself credit for not quitting- find an instructor who will give you unlimited class hours - even if you have to pay extra - it's usually not that much extra and worth the time-

 

[RonFrank]

Based on a PM I just received from LogSplitter, I'm not longer sure what that he was taking AOW, or under a classroom setting.

I'll wait to hear a response from him, but until we do, I would no longer assume that he was taking an AOW class. More likely he just wanted to go with, and dive with the instructors or DM's who were rather busy.

Pity, all that PADI bashing, LDS bashing, and no one every bothered to ask what Advanced Open water means to someone who may not realize it's a term for a certification...

 

[TheRedHead]

Pity, all that PADI bashing, LDS bashing, and no one every bothered to ask what Advanced Open water means to someone who may not realize it's a term for a certification...

And DIR bashing on other threads. I agree it is getting bad lately. People are on edge and acting hostile.

 

[amascuba]

Based on a PM I just received from LogSplitter, I'm not longer sure what that he was taking AOW, or under a classroom setting.

I'll wait to hear a response from him, but until we do, I would no longer assume that he was taking an AOW class. More likely he just wanted to go with, and dive with the instructors or DM's who were rather busy.

Pity, all that PADI bashing, LDS bashing, and no one every bothered to ask what Advanced Open water means to someone who may not realize it's a term for a certification...

Why was he asked to falsify dive logs then? This just seems odd.

 

[trucker girl]

What you really need is some quiet, easy quality time in cold water. It's a lot different than diving in warm water but it can be just as much fun. You don't say where you are in Canada, if you're not too far from Ohio you are more than welcome to come out to Gilboa Quarry for the Scubaboard Meet-n-Greet the Great Lakes Wrecking Crew is having Sept 23-24 (some of us may be there as early as Friday afternoon-Sept 22). I'm willing to help you get your warm water skills transferred to cold water gear and there are others who would probably be just as willing to help. The best advice I can give is: Find someone who is willing to dive with you and just do a couple of fun dives in cold water!
Ber :lilbunny:

AMEN, SISTAH!

MY dive instructor is Dive Guy Scuba in Bradford, Ohio. He is the calmest (unless you steal from him, hit him or hurt one of his dogs...) guy in the world. He watches eyes- now I'm talking about the regular OW cert here. He NEVER takes anyone down if he thinks they are too scared. He took me after a terribly terrifying experience with a bad shop in Hawaii and turned scuba in the stinkin' quarry into something very cool.

Your dive shop is at fault. I don't care if it was OW or AOW. I don't care if he is certified and should have taken care of himself. If the DM was his "buddy" then even with "too many" students, the DM shouldn't have pushed him down. That's just dumb.

It makes me mad how many LDS and DM are A-holes. There are really good shops and good instructors out there.

For the guy who said this must have been a PADI shop if only because of the sheer numbers- stick it! MY Dive Guy is a great person who will bend over backwards to help anyone toward a love of diving (or dogs). I can't comprehend that kind of Certification-Bashing. You must be SSI. See how stupid that sounds? Why is it okay to say that kind of stuff about PADI?

A good instructor is a good instructor is a good instructor. A bad one is a bad one is a bad one.

I do have to tell you that diving in a quarry/lake is no comparison for tropical diving, but you can enjoy it given time. I was at first intimidated by the stuff underwater- the cars, boats, bus, and plane... but in time, I got over that "natural fear" and now I enjoy sitting on the bus and letting the fish swim all around.

It's very peaceful underwater. And there is a sense of accomplishment that will give you confidence above water, also. Don't let this dimwit teaching (or helping with?) the class turn you off. Find someone else. If you come down to Ohio and dive with Ber, let me know. If I'm around, I'll come too. Diving should be fun- it shouldn't be about having a bad day.

 

[trucker girl]

I'm all worked up on this subject now...

I'm no instructor or DM or anything. But this past week I was in the water with two people who were uncomfortable. One who was doing her OW cert and the other was certified but didn't have his weight right.

The OW cert student was scared to go down (dive #3, day #2) so I stayed on the surface with her while Jeff did the skills with the other student. I don't mind- I'm more interested in growing another potential dive buddy than in getting bottom time. I told her that sometimes when I was nervous it helped to breathe through the reg while looking underwater while I was on the surface. She did it and when it was her turn to go down, she gave it a shot.

The certified guy thought he was holding us up. He had a newer, thicker suit and not enough weight. I think he felt conspicuous. I felt really bad when he gave up that first dive and when I surfaced (with about 1800 psi left) I talked him into diving with me (fresh tank- chill out, people). We went down for 2 more dives and it was very enjoyable. Who needs the stress of "performing." This is DIVING! It's a leisure activity! It's a hobby! GOD- if ONLY it were a WAY OF LIFE!!!!! But I digress...

These people who make you feel like you're not good enough make me sick. I don't care if you're "supposed" to know something, if you don't know it and someone makes you feel stupid for not knowing, then that person IS A JERK! Find a new dive shop. Or go somewhere else to dive. Wherever you are exactly, I'm sure you can find people on this board who will be decent to you and help you overcome your experience- even if you find that lake diving and quarries are not your thing.

 

[TSandM]

Ron, I'm glad to read your post. There were a number of things in the OPs opening piece that didn't make a great deal of sense to me.